George W. Bush

A policy and civics test on George W. Bush, from the 2000 election through the end of 2008.

1.How was the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore decided?
Inauguration Day, January 20, 2001.George W. Bush Presidential Library. Public domain.
A. Gore conceded on election night, and the electoral vote matched the popular vote.B. The Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount. Bush won the electors and lost the popular vote.C. The House chose Bush under the Twelfth Amendment after no one won an electoral-vote majority.D. A second nationwide popular vote was held in December, and Bush won it by about two points.
2.Whom did Bush ask to run with him, and what was unusual about the way he chose?
The Texas State Capitol in Austin.Photo by LoneStarMike, CC BY 3.0.
A. John McCain. He had already won the primaries, so the search was only an announcement.B. Elizabeth Dole. She led the search, then stepped aside so Cheney could stay in business.C. Dick Cheney. He led the search, and Bush then asked him to take the job himself.D. Colin Powell. He left the Army that summer and joined the ticket to handle foreign policy.
3.Who held the Speaker's gavel while Bush was president?
The chamber of the House of Representatives.United States House of Representatives. Public domain.
A. Dennis Hastert at the start, then Nancy Pelosi after the 2006 election.B. Nancy Pelosi from inauguration day through the end of the term in January 2009.C. Dennis Hastert the entire time, since a midterm cannot change control of the House.D. Newt Gingrich at the start, then Dennis Hastert after the 2002 midterm election.
4.In 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party. What did that do to the Senate?
The Senate chamber.United States Senate. Public domain.
A. Nothing, because an independent cannot decide which party organizes the Senate.B. Democrats took the majority, and Tom Daschle became majority leader.C. The House flipped with him, and the members elected a new Speaker that same month.D. Republicans kept a 60-vote Senate, and Trent Lott stayed leader through 2006.
5.What did the 2006 midterm elections do to party control of Congress?
The west front of the United States Capitol.Architect of the Capitol. Public domain.
A. Republicans enlarged both majorities and rebuilt a filibuster-proof Senate.B. Democrats took the House only. Republicans kept the Senate, and he called it a thumping.C. Neither chamber changed hands, and the real losses came in the governorships.D. Democrats took the House and the Senate, and he called the loss a thumping.
6.What did the USA PATRIOT Act, which Bush signed in October 2001, do?
A bill signing in the fall of 2001.White House photograph. Public domain.
A. It created Homeland Security and moved both the FBI and the CIA into that department.B. It authorized the invasion of Iraq and a draft of two hundred thousand new soldiers.C. It widened surveillance and let intelligence and criminal investigators share more.D. It confined each wiretap to one phone and required a public trial before a search.
7.How did the war in Afghanistan begin in the fall of 2001?
U.S. soldiers at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.U.S. Navy photograph. Public domain.
A. US air power and special forces joined Afghan allies starting in October 2001.B. Marines seized Kabul in the first week after the September 11 attacks.C. NATO ran the combat from the first night and kept American forces offshore.D. A naval blockade was the whole campaign, and Pakistan's army did the fighting.
8.What legal authority did Bush rely on for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003?
U.S. Marines in a palace in Tikrit, 2003.U.S. Marine Corps photograph. Public domain.
A. A formal declaration of war, passed by both houses and signed in March 2003.B. A treaty with Britain that let either ally open a war without another vote.C. The War Powers Resolution by itself, which had pre-cleared an invasion of Iraq.D. A 2002 statute authorizing force. Congress never passed a declaration of war.
9.Before the war, the administration said Iraq held stockpiles of banned weapons. What did the postwar investigation find?
The Tigris River at Baghdad.U.S. Army photograph. Public domain.
A. UN teams located the stockpiles during the war and removed them under a UN flag.B. The stockpiles described in the public case were not found after the invasion.C. The stockpiles turned up in 2004 and were put on display at the United Nations.D. Iraq had sent the stockpiles to Iran, which Washington then cited as the proof.
10.In 2001 Bush rejected a climate treaty President Clinton had signed but the Senate had not approved. Which treaty, and why?
A coal-fired power plant.Photo by Gary Todd. Public domain.
A. The Paris Agreement. He said the Senate had already ratified it, so he could not withdraw.B. The Montreal Protocol. He said ozone limits were a state issue and ended US participation.C. The Kyoto Protocol. He said it spared big developing countries and would hurt the economy.D. A treaty ratified in 1998. He said a president may ignore a ratified treaty whenever he wishes.
11.In January 2007, with the Iraq Study Group urging a different course, what did Bush order?
U.S. soldiers on patrol in Baghdad.U.S. Air Force photograph by Tech. Sgt. Andrew M. Rodier. Public domain.
A. More than 20,000 added US troops, and he sent General David Petraeus to carry it out.B. A full withdrawal of US combat units within six months, with talks left to the neighbors.C. Adoption of the Study Group's plan as written, including a rapid handover of the fight.D. A transfer of the war to the United Nations, with US troops cut to embassy guards.
12.What did the No Child Left Behind Act, signed in January 2002, require of public schools?
An elementary-school classroom.Photo by Liz, CC BY 2.0.
A. One national curriculum, with the Education Department hiring and firing the teachers.B. An end to standardized tests, and academic standards left entirely to each district.C. A voucher for every public-school pupil, funded by closing the Education Department.D. Annual reading and math tests, and consequences for schools that missed the targets.
13.What was the shape of the income-tax cuts Bush signed in 2001 and 2003?
The Treasury Department building.Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith. Public domain.
A. A constitutional amendment, ratified by the states, that capped tax rates forever.B. Lower rates, including dividends and gains, written to expire at the end of 2010.C. Repeal of the income tax and a national sales tax collected by the states instead.D. A single year of rebates only, with the rate tables left as they stood in 2000.
14.What did the Medicare law Bush signed in 2003 add?
The Department of Health and Human Services.Photo by Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. A voluntary drug benefit run by private plans, with a gap in the middle of coverage.B. A public plan that replaced private insurance for every American over the age of 55.C. Free medicines for people of every age, paid for by ending the Medicare payroll tax.D. Health accounts for workers under 30, and no new benefit at all for retirees.
15.What was the Department of Homeland Security, which opened in 2003?
A Coast Guard cutter.U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Anderson. Public domain.
A. A substitute for the Defense Department, with the armed forces under a police chief.B. A White House office only, created by memo, with no statute and no agencies moved.C. A new department that gathered many security agencies. The FBI and CIA stayed out.D. A federal takeover of city police forces and of the National Guard in every state.
16.What happened in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005?
Flooding in New Orleans, 2005.U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Niemi. Public domain.
A. FEMA cleared New Orleans before landfall, and its director stayed on in honor for years.B. The Pentagon alone had authority, and the governor was forbidden to call the National Guard.C. Congress had adjourned for the year, so no federal disaster statute could be used.D. The response was slow, FEMA's director resigned, and Bush's praise of him marked it.
17.Whom did Bush place on the Supreme Court, and what became of Harriet Miers?
The Supreme Court building.Photo by Kurt Kaiser, CC0.
A. Roberts as chief justice and Alito as associate. The Miers nomination was withdrawn.B. Miers became chief justice, and Roberts moved to attorney general with no Senate vote.C. Alito became chief justice by recess appointment. Roberts was blocked and never seated.D. Roberts was the only new justice, because a president may fill just one seat a term.
18.In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, decided in 2006, what did the Supreme Court hold about the military commissions Bush had set up?
Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay.Department of Defense photograph by Kathleen T. Rhem. Public domain.
A. The commissions were fully lawful, and Congress was forbidden to alter them later.B. They lacked the authority of Congress, and basic Geneva Convention protections applied.C. Guantanamo had to close within 90 days, and every case had to go to a civilian jury.D. Only a formal declaration of war can create a military court, so the commissions were void.
19.Whom did Bush name to replace Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon after the 2006 election?
The Pentagon.Photo by David B. Gleason, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. Colin Powell, who had already served as secretary of state and as a Joint Chiefs chairman.B. Dick Cheney, who would leave the vice presidency in order to run the Defense Department.C. Robert Gates, a former CIA director who was then president of Texas A&M.D. Condoleezza Rice, who would move to the Pentagon from the national security adviser's office.
20.Who served Bush as secretary of state, and in what order?
The State Department building.U.S. Department of State. Public domain.
A. Condoleezza Rice for all eight years, with Colin Powell as ambassador to the United Nations.B. Colin Powell for all eight years, while Rice remained the national security adviser.C. Dick Cheney, holding the State Department at the same time as the vice presidency.D. Colin Powell in the first term, then Condoleezza Rice in the second term.
21.What happened to Bush's 2005 plan for personal Social Security accounts?
The Social Security Administration headquarters.Photo by Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A. He campaigned hard for the accounts, and Congress never sent him a bill.B. Congress passed the accounts, and he signed the new system in the summer of 2005.C. The Supreme Court created the accounts and struck down the payroll tax that year.D. He vetoed a bill Congress had already passed. It was the first veto of his presidency.
22.What was the result of Bush's immigration push in 2006 and 2007?
The Rio Grande in Big Bend.National Archives photograph by Blair Pittman. Public domain.
A. A citizenship bill cleared both houses, and he signed that comprehensive law in 2007.B. A fence law passed, and the broader bill with a path to legal status died in the Senate.C. He shut down legal immigration by executive order and ended asylum for the rest of the term.D. Both houses passed a guest-worker bill, then voted to override the veto he cast against it.
23.What was the subject of Bush's first veto, cast in July 2006?
The south side of the White House.Photo by Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0.
A. A higher minimum wage. Congress enacted the raise over his veto within the month.B. A war-funding bill that would have cut off money for the Iraq war that autumn.C. A bill to widen federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells.D. A constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, which died when he returned it.
24.What was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in 2003?
A State of the Union address.White House photograph by Susan Sterner. Public domain.
A. A Medicaid expansion that paid for HIV drugs in every state of the union.B. A treaty giving the World Health Organization control of US drug patents.C. A ban on HIV research inside the National Institutes of Health for five years.D. Billions for treatment and prevention, aimed largely at countries in Africa.
25.When credit markets froze in September 2008, what did Bush do?
The New York Stock Exchange.Photo by Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A. He backed a Treasury rescue of up to $700 billion and signed it after the House flipped.B. He let the large banks fail, on the ground that a public rescue would be unconstitutional.C. He nationalized the biggest banks and put a cabinet officer on the board of each one.D. He vetoed the rescue, and the Federal Reserve's emergency lending power expired that week.

Name

0 of 25 answered

George W. Bush

1.How was the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore decided?

2.Whom did Bush ask to run with him, and what was unusual about the way he chose?

3.Who held the Speaker's gavel while Bush was president?

4.In 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party. What did that do to the Senate?

5.What did the 2006 midterm elections do to party control of Congress?

6.What did the USA PATRIOT Act, which Bush signed in October 2001, do?

7.How did the war in Afghanistan begin in the fall of 2001?

8.What legal authority did Bush rely on for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003?

9.Before the war, the administration said Iraq held stockpiles of banned weapons. What did the postwar investigation find?

10.In 2001 Bush rejected a climate treaty President Clinton had signed but the Senate had not approved. Which treaty, and why?

11.In January 2007, with the Iraq Study Group urging a different course, what did Bush order?

12.What did the No Child Left Behind Act, signed in January 2002, require of public schools?

13.What was the shape of the income-tax cuts Bush signed in 2001 and 2003?

14.What did the Medicare law Bush signed in 2003 add?

15.What was the Department of Homeland Security, which opened in 2003?

16.What happened in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005?

17.Whom did Bush place on the Supreme Court, and what became of Harriet Miers?

18.In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, decided in 2006, what did the Supreme Court hold about the military commissions Bush had set up?

19.Whom did Bush name to replace Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon after the 2006 election?

20.Who served Bush as secretary of state, and in what order?

21.What happened to Bush's 2005 plan for personal Social Security accounts?

22.What was the result of Bush's immigration push in 2006 and 2007?

23.What was the subject of Bush's first veto, cast in July 2006?

24.What was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in 2003?

25.When credit markets froze in September 2008, what did Bush do?